Headset bearing replacement

i have a 1" headset bearings ring thing (just what are they called?), that has disintegrated on me. can you buy a replacement somewhere, or is it just worth buying a cheap new headset for £15 or so?

you can buy replacement loose bearings or bearing in the races but you might be better getting a new headset. like you say, cheap and it'll have cartridge bearings which will last longer.

If you don't mind getting you fingers greasy, you can go for the cheap option of:
Remove the bearing cage and just packing the headset race with new ball bearings of the correct size (just measure what was in there originally), leaving about as much space as one balls width empty.

Packing the headset with as many balls as possible is a standard trick used by MTB'ers to make the headset to take more/bigger knocks. The headset may not last as long in normal use (i.e. riding on the road) as the bearing will rub against each other rather than the softer material of the cage. However, if you look after the headset and replace the balls now and again it will be a lot cheaper to buy a set of ball bearings (a couple of quid) rather than replace the whole headset.

Put plenty of quality grease in.

nice one. thanks for the options guys